The Bonanza Community Bank is located in the community of El Carmen de Guzho in the city of Cuenca. Maize grows really well there, and the local adults work in farming. The younger people have moved to the big cities or overseas.

42-year old Sra. Martha is married and has four children aged 20, 17, 11, and 8. Her eldest daughter helps her with the sales of the produce in the market. Her 17-year old son works as a bricklayer, and the younger two are students at the local school called Agustín C. Vintimilla. Her husband is a bricklayer, and they are in the process of building their own home.

Martha has a stall in the market where she sells different sorts of fresh grains and vegetables. She’s been doing this job since she was seven years old helping her mother. At the age of twenty one, she started her own stall where she works from 4 am buying produce and stays until 6pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Thursday and Fridays she works in a cafe--she’s been doing this for four years--from 8am to 6pm. She also raises chickens to sell in Cuenca market.

This is her first loan with the foundation. She was encouraged to join the community bank by one of her friends in the market. With the money she is going to buy carrots, tomatoes, onions, chard, cabbage, lettuce, and baby chicks. She will also buy vitamins and food for the chicks. In addition, Martha will buy Ardex roofing for her house. Her goal is to complete the construction of the house.

Señora María Cruz Q. lives in the big city of Cuenca with three of her five children. The oldest two are married and live independently. Her 23-year old son is a bricklayer and gives her some money towards the household expenses. Her daughter helps her with the market stall, and her youngest son is a student at the Turi technical college.

The house she lives in is her own, and she put in a lot of effort to build it. Her husband travelled overseas twelve years ago in search of the American dream and economic stability for the whole family, but when he got there he forgot about his family. María says she has a new partner with whom she is rebuilding her life.

María sells quesillo (soft cheese), cheese, and all kinds of grains in the market. She’s been doing this job for 35 years. She began in the 12 de Abril market and now works in the Feria Libre market where she’s been for 21 years. She works there every day without a day off from 6am to 6pm. She doesn’t have her own market stall but walks around the market.

This is her first loan with the foundation, and with the money she plans to buy cheese, tomatoes, onions, carrots, chard, cabbage and other vegetables to increase her stock. She spends a lot of money buying the produce each week. María’s dream is for her son to study hard, become a professional, and get a good job.

Additional Information

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.